Kitsune Seshuu
by Alaska
Summary: It was never said who took care of Naruto when he was little. No one liked him, so how would Naruto grow up to twelve when no one watched over him when he was little? Well, what if nobody did? Rather, what if something did? [093007: Read AN in Prologue]
1. Prologue

_So na...I updated this and changed things around a bit. Hopefully my readers read this. The story will have the same basic idea (with the major center around Naruto's affinity for foxes) but I'm changing some things around a bit. The story line will be better and smoother this way because I have a better idea on what to do._

* * *

The three year old child stared blandly at the tiny bookshelf in his bare, white room. His eyes reflected the tiniest flicker of amusement at his caretaker's attempt to frustrate him (the scant handful of books on his shelf consisted of heavily intensive text on chakra control, a rather worn guide of medicinal herbs and how to use them, and other texts that would have bored a child to tears), before falling back into boredom. He had nearly memorized all the books anyway (being locked in a room all day with nothing but a raggedy blanket, an ancient mattress, and old texts left one with very little options to amuse themselves with, thus he had taught himself how to read by painstakingly studying the pictures in the books and stealing the old magazines out of the bathroom when he was actually let out to use it). Though currently bored out of his mind, he had an uneasy feeling that something was going to happen, something different. 

Call it instinct.

It may have had something to do with what had happened a few months ago, on his once every other week trip outside (his…_caretakers_ had to keep up the image he was perfectly healthy, right? What other way than to parade him around…). Perhaps in hopes of ridding themselves of him on accident, they had taken him to play outside by the fence of the Forest of Death. Whatever the reason, he had enjoyed it. His child's mind coming to the fore for the first time in months, he had excitedly toddled over to the fence (which had caused his caretakers' faces to light up with hope) and stood in front of it, mouth agape in childish awe and joy. He could hear the calls of the forest all around him, though he was only on the edge.

_His awe __was__interrupted__ by the shine of a pair of eyes staring at him, golden yellow and intelligent.__ Blinking in surprise, the child __could only stare as,__ gradually, a muzzle, followed by a pair of ears and part of a neck, emerged from the thick vegetation to stare at him through the fence. The ebony ears were perked forward, the head cocked slightly to the side, as the large fox stared down at the __surprised__ child (his caretakers weren't very amused, they looked cross and about to interfere before the fox had glanced at them before returning its scrutiny to the tiny child before it)._

_The fox seemed to be as __interested__ as the __child;__ it weaved its head to the left and right before lowering it to the child's level, sniffing the air before it in an attempt to catch the boy's scent__. The child, meanwhile, was absolutely __motionless;__ stunned that another living creature had taken it upon itself to pay him some attention that didn't include glaring, yelling, or some other form of abuse.__ Satisf__ied, the fox yipped its approval. T__he boy could__ just__ barely make out the charcoal black tail wagging in excitement behind the fox._

_The boy blinked once more before slowly, tears came to his eyes as he stared up at the only being that had ever bothered to look at him with something other tha__n contempt. This one creature, this fox that had gone _out of its way_ to greet him, was the only being to have ever seemed delighted to see him, to look down at him with amusement and interest. He...he couldn't believe it. As if to prove to himself that the fox really was there, he reached his chubby hands forward, through the fence to grab feebly at the animal. _

_Quite amused, the fox stepped closer, its snout poking slightly through the fence as the boy grasped the thick fur of its neck. There was a stifled sob as soon as the boy's hands had touched its neck, confirmation that the animal was _here_ and quite real. Concerned, the fox tried to cock its head at the right angle to see what was wrong, but the boy had __buried__ his face into the fox's fur, sobbing at the sheer kindness of the creature. Giving up, the fox gave a purr-like growl as an attempt to pacify the boy before it caught sight of one of the boy's…caretakers approaching. The ebony fox snarled unhappily but the woman continued to approach, undaunted and wielding a shiny pocket knife. _

_The fox snarled once more before pulling away from the boy, giving him a quick lick on the face before vanishing back into the brush. Confused, the boy looked behind him to see what had scared the fox away only to meet the eyes of his furious caretaker._

Needless to say, he hadn't gotten any meals for a few days after _that_ particular stunt. Still, it had been quite worth it. The fox's kindness had been just the thing he needed to keep going, knowing that not everyone hated him, not everyone would rather have him dead. He could deal with that. He would just have to act as oblivious to the cold stares as he could to ascertain who could be trusted not to hate him and who couldn't.

His eyes were suddenly riveted to the door as one of his caretakers-the woman- stepped in.

"Come on, we're leaving."

Naruto, confused, followed the order, knowing he would get reprimanded should he dawdle. Where were they going?

* * *

It was a nice day outside. The sun was shining its brightest, birds were chirping, and a certain blonde infant was smiling without a care in the world. A certain blonde infant with fox-like whiskers on his face and sparkling deep blue eyes. This certain blonde infant was being taken to a small playground by his caretaker, for both his parents had passed away shortly after he was born. The caretaker looked as if she would much rather be anywhere else than looking after this three-year-old, as she kept stealing nasty looks at the oblivious child. How she hated this demon. She really couldn't understand why Hokage-sama put this demon-child under her care. It didn't matter anyway, it would end very soon. No more would she have to care for her family's murderer. Forget the punishment she would get for abandoning the demon-child, anything was better than this.

The child's caretaker smirked as she slowed down and slowly turned around and walked away.

Said demon-child looked around with great happiness and wonder at being outside, for his caretakers (for he had gone through many) rarely ever took him anywhere, reasons the three-year-old could just not understand. However, that did not matter now, as he was outside and he should enjoy it while he had it, why question good things that came to him? His tiny legs moved faster as the playground came into view. That happy vulpine grin grew wider and with an ecstatic yelp of delight, he raced ahead of his caretaker to jump into a sandbox with a kid that appeared to be one year older than him.

He has odd colored eyes, was the blonde's first thought.

The kid appeared a bit surprised when the blonde decided to join him, as he dropped the shovel he had been holding due to being startled in such a way. He had the sudden urge to scramble backwards and hide but was rooted to the spot; nobody ever wanted to play with him. The blonde cocked his head to the side, staring at the kid with his startling blue eyes in confusion. Giving the kid a smile, the fox-boy bent down and picked up the plastic shovel and held it out for the other child in an indication to play. Said child stared at the shovel, contemplating whether or not the shovel and the hand holding it were dangerous. He looked up at the blonde, not seeing any animosity or mischief in his eyes. Maybe this boy didn't care that he was a part of the Branch Family... [1. Shyly, he gave him a small smile before taking his shovel back.

"Can I pway with you?" the blue-eyed blonde asked enthusiastically [2.

The black haired white-eyed boy nodded, his smile broadening, he hardly ever got to play with anyone!

"Yatta!" the blonde squealed before plopping down in the sand across from the other boy, "I'm Naruto, what's youw name?"

"Neji..." was the other boys answer.

Naruto grinned before frowning slightly when he caught sight of thick bandaging on Neji's forehead. Why did he have bandaging on his forehead? It was kind of odd, he had never seen anyone with such wrappings on their forehead, on their legs and arms, yes, but not on their forehead, then again he hadn't seen many people... He pointed to it curiously and Neji saddened immediately. Naruto apologized when he realized his playmate had gotten upset but stopped when the other boy shook his head.

"My father said it was a cuwse seal for the bwanch famiwy. All of the bwanch famiwy get it so the main famiwy can make suwe we stay in line. It huwt when I got it and it bwed, so father put a bandage on it."

Neji unraveled some of it so that Naruto could see it, it wasn't bleeding but it looked irritated. He wrapped it back up once more and sighed sadly. Although Naruto hadn't followed the whole branch family thing, he knew a problem when he saw one, especially one that went farther than skin deep. God knows he had experience in that department. Naruto looked on, wondering how to cheer up his friend. A little light bulb went on in his head and he smiled foxily.

"Oi, oi, Neji!" this grabbed the other boy's attention, "I have one too! Watch this!"

To cheer up his friend, Naruto lifted up his shirt a little and concentrated a bit, trying to get angry. Sure enough, a dark red seal appeared on Naruto's stomach. It looked a little like a sun with a lot of squiggly lines around it. The blonde smiled, he had learned this trick a long time ago when he had gotten angry. He had been quite surprised at first, but found that it proved to ease his boredom. However, he had no idea what it was for...

Neji gasped at the sight, his little hands going to his mouth before grinning once more and reached out to poke it. Giggling, Naruto put his shirt back down.

"See, I have one too!"

Neji was definitely happy once more, he wasn't alone. There was someone else who had a curse seal that was his age! He had been made fun of by all the other kids that he saw because he wasn't part of the main family... Not to mention his father trained his son constantly, though he was only a four-year-old. Obviously, it was very important that Neji surpass the main family heirs. What was the difference of being part of the main family and the branch family? He didn't know, but it seemed to matter to the other kids. Yet, here was this blonde child who didn't care if he was a branch family member or that he had a curse seal. Maybe, maybe this boy could be his first friend.

Naruto must have had the same idea because he suddenly asked,

"Will you be my fwiend? Cause, well, I have no fwiends and-" but Neji interrupted him.

"Hai!" the pupiless eyed boy crowed.

Naruto smiled as well and was about to ask the other boy if he wanted to build a sand castle when he was interrupted by a very tall replica of Neji.

"Neji, it is time to go home now, it looks like there is a storm coming," said the Neji replica.

"Hai! Bye, Naruto, we'll play again tomowow?" he asked hopefully.

Naruto nodded enthusiastically (hoping that his caretaker would take him there tomorrow) as he stared up at what he guessed was Neji's father. The man didn't look at him kindly, but then the man didn't glare at him either, like most of the villagers. Naruto decided he liked this man, better than the villagers anyway. This man had bandaging on his head too, which caused Naruto to look at him curiously. The man didn't seem to notice as he picked up Neji's shovel and pail, gently took Neji's small hand and began to walk away.

Naruto was still in a happy and good mood. Neji and he would get to play again tomorrow! At least, he hoped they would. It all depended on what his caretaker said. He hoped his caretaker would take him here again tomorrow to play. It was doubtful, but it was nice to hope anyway.

He waved as Neji and his father walked away to where Naruto guessed was home. He smiled; he finally had a friend of his own. They would be best friends forever! Naruto had so many ideas for the only person that liked him and decided a gift would be in order. However, now was not the time, for when he looked at the sky he discovered that Neji's father had been right. It was getting very dark and stormy. He had better find his caretaker to take him home! Looking around, he found that no one was in or around the playground. It was completely deserted. His heart sped up, where was she? She was supposed to take him home!

Frantically, he called for her. No answer. Naruto was beginning to panic, he was left alone?! He couldn't walk home either, he had been so excited to be outside he didn't know how to get back home! Another frantic call for her. His only answer was lightening crackling overhead, causing the panic-stricken young boy to yelp and jump. He ran over to the slide and called for Neji, even though he well knew that he had gone home. His body shook violently as he called out for both his caretaker and Neji. He knew that the caretaker didn't like him, but she wouldn't abandon him would she?

Tears began to fall from the frightened child as he began to cry. Rain slowly began to fall, one drop at a time as it slowly became heavier. Thunder roared overhead angrily. Naruto cried out along with it, his voice lost in the storm. His sobbing reached no one. No human ears, that is. The petrified child hugged the pole that held the slide up, staring out into the darkness, his whole body shaking. His mind became near empty in his distress, alone in this darkness. Near mindless with fear, it never occurred to Naruto that he had begun to wine and cry out like a scared fox kit. A small shadow, no larger than a medium sized dog, detached itself from the darkness of the Konoha forest. Naruto stared at it.

It trotted quickly and swiftly over to the terrified boy, a long bushy tail flared out behind it. Naruto didn't even move, his erratic mind reaching out to the creature that had come to help him in this madness. The creature sniffed the hand before licking it. Rain came down a bit harder. Large fox ears twirled back and forth, listening to see if others would come. None did.

It cocked its head to the side, as if deciding before reaching forward and grabbing the back of the boy's shirt and lifting him up off the ground. Naruto didn't even protest, his mind vaguely registering that his savior was a fox. Instinctively, he curled up, an instinct he didn't know he had. Right now, however, he didn't care. His mind was in shreds due to the very fact that he had been abandoned to his own fate by the one person in all of Konoha who was supposed to take care of him. He looked up at the fox mother. She looked down at him and purred slightly to reassure him, much like she would to one of her own kits.

Whatever had called her put her into action quickly to save this frightened kit. Nor did she care that he was actually human, he was a kit in need and she planned to fulfill that need. He smelled like a fox, and that was all the reason she needed to take this orphan in.

Her dark tawny form crossed the empty playground, rain droplets dropping off with each time her feet touched the ground. Rain continued to come down harder as another strike of lightening crashed. The boy she carried shook with fear but another purr from her quieted him. Konoha forest approached and with one leap, the two creatures disappeared into the surrounding darkness.

Naruto wasn't found until an incident six years later.

* * *

_Sorry I haven't updated in a million years...hopefully I can get my ass in gear and update the rest of the chapters and write a new one. Chapters two and three, as I see it, are going to be combined. The new Chapter Three will be thrust forward in time. You'll see. It'll be better this way. :D_


	2. Chapter Eins

_Woot! Another update. Chapter one is tweaked…a lot._

* * *

He grinned happily, blowing the last bit of shavings off the carving. Made purely of deer antler, it was carved to look precisely like a fox with multiple tales, nine to be exact. It was carved to face the looker diagonally, one of its paws raised, all nine of its tails spread out behind it. Teeth pulled back in a fox smile, it looked startlingly realistic. A small metal hoop on the top was strung through a leather thong so it could be worn as a necklace. Naruto knew it was special, he had carved it from his own claws (carefully, however, as they were not very strong yet and could easily break).

Today was a special day, today was the sixth year anniversary of the day that his mother had discovered him nearly mindless with fear, abandoned in the empty playground that stormy night. Since then, she had raised him as if he was her own kit and he had stayed with her, becoming her son in all but blood. Goings had been tough at first but gradually everything had become second nature to him, from living in the trees (to avoid predators that would gladly rip into his soft pink flesh) to hunting down creatures of the forest for a meal, he was as capable as any fox in the forest.

He had wanted to make her something special for this particular anniversary, mainly because he had recently turned nine years old and that was a special number for him. Not entirely sure why, his mother had, on occasion, called him 'her little kyuubi' which translated roughly to her little nine-tailed fox. He hadn't minded, especially since his mother had always said it lovingly, like how he remembered mothers calling their children 'my little sunshine' when he had still lived with humans. Since he had first heard the nickname, the number had become very special to him. It was a direct link to his mother, in a way, and he would value that forever.

Shaking his head, he slung the charm around his neck and straightened, absently adjusting his low-slung deerskin pants higher before launching into the brush ahead of him silently. He easily slid through the brush, taking occasional whiffs of the air before altering his course appropriately. Half a mile into the deep forest, however, he came to an abrupt halt, his heart coming to a shuddering halt.

The forest was dead silent.

Not a bird call in the area for miles, or the faraway chatter of a squirrel. Not a _thing_ rustled in the woods. Something was _very_ wrong, nothing; _absolutely nothing_ had ever shut the forest up like this before. Only particularly large predators or ninjas ever quieted the forest, but that was only a very small area. He felt panic creeping up his spine as the hairs on the back of his neck began to stand up. Completely on instinct, he pulled back his lips into a hiss as he melded into the dark shadow of a nearby tree. He needed to evaluate the situation.

Crouching, he took deep breaths of air, sifting through the scents easily. That's when he caught it. The scent.

The scent of _blood_, lots of it.

Overwhelmed, he snorted, tears coming to his eyes. It was fairly far away from him, more than one hundred to two hundred yards and yet it smelled as if he had bathed in it. He had detected the same scent further up and possibly off to his right, as well. No doubt there were several others that had shared the same fate that he couldn't smell. What really worried him, however, was what type of blood it was.

Fox.

He desperately needed to find his mother.

Without waiting a moment more, he leapt furiously from the shadows, wildly latching onto his mother's hazy scent and following it deeper into the depths of the forest. Branches smacked him in the face as he ran flat out at his top speed towards his mother, hoping beyond hope that she was alright. He vaguely recognized another, stronger scent in the area, one that brought chills up his spine.

Snake.

It was a big one, as well; one of enormous proportions and evil intent, the forest _reeked_ of it. No wonder the forest had gone silent, this thing was here for a purpose and it would stop at nothing to accomplish it. It chilled him to think of what it wanted with the foxes of this forest. He shook his head, no need to dwell on that, he needed to focus all the attention he had on finding…

There! The scent had suddenly become much stronger; he vaulted over a low-slung branch before darting quickly to the right. Just up ahead, he could feel it. He slowed, approaching cautiously in case his mother was in a dire enough situation that any sudden movement would end her life.

He fearfully registered that the snake's scent was just as strong as his mother's, indicating that the snake was up ahead as well.

As silent as the forest itself had become, he crept behind a tree and peaked cautiously out from behind it to survey the scene. His heart stopped as his eyes widened to enormous proportions. He tried to control his breathing, but it was a wild struggle and he felt on the urge of hyperventilating at the sheer proximity his mother and the snake shared. She was so close to the massive snake that he could almost _smell_ her death. Was…was she bleeding?

Now he could hear the snake speaking, a heavy accent present while it attempted to speak the fox language.

_"Tthhissss iisssss tthhe lasssst timee I ssshhhaall assskk. Whhere isss ttthhhe foxxxx-boy?"_

A cough and a snarling in fox that stopped his heart.

_"I would never tell you the location of my kit, cowardly messenger-boy of the snake man."_

_"Ttthhenn sssoo beeee ittt..."_

With that final statement, he could only watch in horror as the snake lunged and struck the deadly blow. His heart and mind shattered along with his mother's life. He gripped his hair violently, tearing into his skull with his deadly claws as he screamed to the heavens. His scream turned to a roar, mourning the one creature that had mattered the most to him, his _mother._ His world had _shattered_ before his very eyes.

The snake only watched, amused that his prey had taken it upon itself to come to him. He watched as the fox-boy slowly quieted down before speaking.

"_Ittt wassss gooood oof yooou toooo cooome, I waasss gettinggg immpaaattttient." _He smirked to himself as his prey stiffened. The smirk faded, however, when the boy began to step out of the shadows

Blood had begun to pour from the shallow cuts in the boy's skull. It dripped down his blond hair, streaking it with red, before flowing over his forehead and around his eyes, which had suddenly become blood red, making it look as if he were crying tears of blood. The whisker-like marks upon his face had suddenly become wider, darkening to an almost red color. The seal burned angrily against his bare stomach as the boy approached, a red chakra beginning to swirl around the child as he bared his canines, which were much larger than they had been before.

The boy stiffly walked over to the body of the tawny fox that he had called mother. He slowly reached behind his neck, lifting off the fox made of bone and slipping it around his mother's neck. Gently, he smoothed out the rumpled fur and reached forward, closing her eyes. He stared a moment more at the one who had raised him for these past years before rising, and turned to face her murderer with cold fury in his eyes.

An ancient voice was making itself heard in his mind.

Power flowed around his body, both inside and out, a swirling vortex of red chakra. His normally modest claws sharpened dramatically and grew half an inch in length. His already wild hair now floated as if it had a life of its own, while his whisker marks became crimson and much wider. The ancient voice seemed to be clawing at an invisible force as it seemed to rage within him, demanding the blood of the enormous seventy foot snake.

Naruto was glad to grant him his wish.

The snake nearly pissed itself. It wasn't dealing with just the boy now; the damn fox was helping him! Its master had never calculated that! Without warning, the boy leaped at it with incredible speed and, though the snake tried to dodge in attempt to save its life, had a large chunk of its neck ripped out by merely the boy's _claws. _Landing on the other side after his swinging strike, Naruto whipped around for another attack.

Hissing the snake swung its head around only to find that the boy had disappeared. Momentarily confused, it found its target latched onto its throat, great canines ripping into the jugular and sending blood gushing around the battle feed. As if that weren't enough, the boy swung his arms and legs up, digging his dagger-like claws into the snake's flesh, snapping bones and ripping off more flesh.

In a world of pain, the snake desperately tried to reach the boy and tear him off his neck. Burning pains around his entire body caused him to weakly look behind him and discover that the swirling vortex of red chakra had not been formless but instead were nine long tails that had wrapped around his body and were slowly burning into his skin and muscle. He knew quite suddenly that it was hopeless, that he was going to die. Losing strength, the massive reptile gave one last effort to shake the crazed beast from his neck.

The snake felt the life being drained out of him. The only thing he could hear now was the snarling of the fox-brat latched to his neck. The only thing he could smell now was his own blood being poured out onto the ground. The last thing he saw was the mangled body of the tawny fox he had killed and the carving of the kyuubi laid carefully on her neck.

So wrapped up in the rage coursing through his veins, Naruto remained firmly latched to the snake's neck long after it died, clawing at the already shredded snake skin around the throat. Wild, animalistic eyes snapped around, keeping an unconscious watch over his felled prey. His breathing was hard, coming out in gasping pants around the unrealistic fangs that were buried far beneath the snake's neck.

An instinct deep within informed him that his chosen prey was quite dead. In fact, it had been dead for almost ten minutes. Said 'instinct' chided him for waiting so long to feast when much larger predators could come and steal it! Growling in the raged state, Naruto bent to do the task before stopping short, sense coming back to him.

_Mother! _

All the rage left him, causing him to collapse upon looking at the mangled body of the only being to ever watch over him out of compassion. The being that had scooped him up in the gathering thunderstorm the terrifying afternoon of the day his caretaker abandoned him to the elements. The being that had chased away his shadows, had comforted him when he got hurt. The being that taught him how to hunt for himself so that if it came to it, he could survive on his own. The being that had continued to look after him after he had been found by the humans.

All taken away in the time it took to blink an eye.

He felt prickling in his eyes.

Tears.

Heh... Who ever thought a monster could cry?

Sobs wracked his body as he leaned forward to begin crawling over to her. Each step was more agonizing than the last, each step making the wavering truth more and more unbearable.

She was on her side, gashes were randomly bleeding in various areas around her body. One of her legs rested at an angle that shouldn't have been possible, even if it was broken. Several large puncture holes lined from her shoulder to her haunches in a semicircle indicated that she had been picked up by the snake and ripped around like a rag doll. The puddle was slowly becoming bigger.

"_Mother?"_

Silence.

_"Mommy, wake up, today we are going to play all day and have a great time and be reminded of the day me and you met...wake up..." _

_Not even a twitch._

"_Mommy? Mommy, come on..." _A cautious shake. No movement. _"I even made this great thing to remind us of today! It will make you so happy to see it. I spent months making it to make sure it was perfect!" _He dangled the beautifully carved fox in front of her lifeless eyes.

Naruto didn't understand, why was she like this? He knew she was hurt, but she'd recover! Just like she did when she protected him from that rabid bear. These wounds wouldn't be a problem to recover from... not after the bear. He shook her a little once more, praying that she would move a little. She wasn't breathing, either...was that normal?

Deep down, Naruto knew she wasn't coming back. She would never come to lick him on the face with greeting or smack him with her paw when he had been bad. He suddenly felt lost.

Did he not deserve love like everyone else? Is that why she was taken away? Had he been bad for a reason he hadn't known to take her away? It was because he was a monster, like the villagers called him, wasn't it? Monsters didn't deserve love, so why would he be any different?

Naruto looked upon the blood-spattered form of his mother. Reaching out, he grabbed her soft neck in his arms and hugged it to him. He buried his face in her still warm ruff of fur, ignoring that he was now covered in blood. Slowly, he began rocking back and forth, whimpering to himself while tears added to the bloody mess of the fur. Every now and then a yelp or bark would make itself heard as he mumbled in fox about things that didn't make sense. In his despair, he cried himself to sleep, never letting go of his mother.

* * *

Fox. Big fox. _Very _big fox. It could feel it. 

The forest was moving again. It could already hear the regular sounds of birds calling and animals coming out of hiding. The snake must have left. Or died.

Glancing down at its dead mother, it sadly licked her faceonce more before bravely trotting into the brush.

Maybe this big fox could help it.

Trotting, avoiding large objects it couldn't jump over or crawl under, it made its way to where it had last sensed the big fox. Burned flesh and blood entered its nose so strongly it nearly keeled over and turned back. However, it was determined to not let its mother's protecting him from the snake go to waste. It trudged on until it reached a clearing. A clearing with a giant snake (dead, it assumed) and a young boy holding onto a fox, sound asleep.

Eight other cubs were already curled up in different places around the boy.

Slowly, so as not to disturb the others, the fox-kit curled up to the boy on an empty space and, with one last cry of sadness in the direction his mother lay, he placed his head on his paws and fell to sleep.

* * *

_Woahoh__. That was cool, __neh__? Next chapter (which should hopefully be out pretty soon) involves our precious kit waking up, but it is different than what I had planned __laaaaast__ time: Trust me on this, it will be much better. I didn't like the teacher idea, too overdone._


	3. Chapter Zwei

_Glad I still have some reviewers. Sorry for the reshuffling of the story, but I wasn't quite sure where the last one was headed. I've got a good idea where this one is headed, though. See below for some answers to some of the questions/requests you guys have been having._

* * *

Sandaime snorted his tea as an angry spike of chakra exploded in the far off distance in the woods. Punching his chest with his fist, he blearily looked out the window at the very faint, almost invisible red haze that rose several miles off in the distance. His eyes widened as he barely registered the signature, so different than what it had been before (1). An ANBU burst into his office as the third stared numbly out the window.

"Hokage-sama!"

Said Hokage shook himself out of his reverie and cleared his throat, recovering quickly from his shock. He stood regally, this matter had best be dealt with in person rather than by ordering the ANBU to retrieve the child, they would probably end up hurting him anyway.

"Hokage-sama?"

The Sandaime turned to the rabbit-masked ANBU and nodded reassuringly, smiling.

"No need to send out a squad, inform them they can relax. Once you've calmed everyone down, come back and accompany me to the forest."

The ANBU blinked, immensely confused.

"Sir?"

Sandaime merely smiled, turning calmly back to the window he had looked out previously.

"A very special someone who has been lost for many years has been found. I'm going to bring him home now. Be quick, I'd hate to keep him waiting."

Bewildered, but not about to question the Hokage of Konoha, the ANBU left to fulfill the orders. Sandaime reached idly to his desk, picking up his discarded pipe and relighting it. He brought it to his lips, inhaling the calming nicotine. He exhaled, old eyes turned to lock onto the fading red haze in the distance.

"Welcome home, Naruto."

* * *

The rabbit-faced ANBU was nervous, Sandaime could tell. Whether it was the shirtless boy bathed in blood or the fact that said boy was clutching the battered body of a tawny fox, he couldn't tell. The scene that greeted them was certainly horrifying, to be sure. He idly registered the ANBU gagging from the burnt flesh smell and possibly from the bits and pieces of the snake lying around. Its massive body was nearly seventy feet long and Sandaime could only venture a guess that this boy had had a bit of help from the creature sealed within him. 

But, of course, he was only guessing, what the citizens of Konoha didn't know wouldn't hurt them.

He coughed as the smell wafted over to his nostrils but other than that, he appeared completely unaffected by the odor. The sound attracted the attention of several of the kits dog piled on the boy, causing them to snarl protectively. The boy in question twitched, slowly opening his rich blue eyes.

Naruto was confused for all of a few seconds before everything came crashing back to him. The anniversary, the fox charm, the quiet, the snake, the blood, his mother…oh God…his _mother._ He felt tears burn his eyes once more as he clutched her. She had given her life for his. He…he would honor that, he wouldn't falter now, even if the only light he had had just gone out. He would live the life she had given him, but not without purpose.

Foxes were unforgiving, after all. He would hunt down the leg-less dirt crawler that had _dared_…The damned snake hadn't been working alone, his mother had mentioned vital information before being murdered. Something about a snake-human. He would exact just revenge, an eye for an eye, a LIFE FOR A LIFE. He snarled with determination, causing a chorus of growls to erupt around him.

Perplexed enough to divert his attention from such dark thoughts, he quite suddenly found that he was surrounded by kits, nine of them to be exact. They were of varying shapes and sizes. A few looked to be injured, one with its left ear in tatters while the other had dried blood around its blank eyes, an obvious sign of blindness, and several others with cuts here and there. That wasn't what confused him.

_"What?"_

Taking this as a cue, the kits turned to him as one and all began speaking at the same time.

_"You are the big fox!" _

_"You will help us...right? Please?"_

_"Momma was killed by big snake! Nowhere to go!"_

_"Scared...came to big fox for help."_

The boy in question paused, allowing for a moment to digest the information he had managed to catch from the panicked kits. Apparently, the snake had gotten to more than just _his_ mother. Sadly, he looked at the fallen body of her; he hadn't imagined that the snake would kill each mother in the area to find her and murder them while he was at it. The thought saddened him, that these defenseless kits had been forced to come to him for guidance, for protection, to be their new family.

For confirmation, however, he barked a command for silence. They silenced immediately.

_"Now one of you __explain__ to me what happened and why you are here."_

A tawny-red fox with one of its ears in tatters (2) stepped forward.

_"A big snake came. It asked for a fox-boy__, something its human master wanted__. Mom didn't know what it was talking about. The snake didn't like that. It attacked me and Mom and I was able to get away but Mom died protecting me. The snake moved on and forgot about me. A while after that, I felt a big fox, __it was __reassuring and I followed the track to you. That's how we all found you. You will help us, right?"_

_"Are there any more that were orphaned?" _

_"No, this is all of us."_

Naruto sighed again.

_"What do you want me to do?"_

The kits seemed to relax now that he would help them. They licked his hands and buried their heads into his bare chest, purring.

"_We have nowhere to go."_

He wasn't sure. He had never been around too many kits, his mother had never had any other than him, she had devoted all her time to him. He didn't know a thing about raising kits! But his mother had done it for him. And what better way to repay her for her kindness to him than to foster the kits? They _did_ all seem old enough to eat solid food alone…how hard could it be?

Doubtless they would want revenge for their families…

Who was he to deny them this right?

_"You may stay with me as long as you wish, I will watch over you. Nothing like this shall ever happen to you again, not under my watch, I so swear!"_

This declaration, a binding tie sacred to any fox, was met with stunned silence. All at once however, they reacted. As one, they leapt onto him, a yipping, barking, and purring mass of fur. Naruto laughed and let them attack. Well, now he had something else to keep him alive, something else other than his revenge to tie him to the world once more. Smiling, Naruto rubbed the kits closest to him, causing them to purr. He had lost the only thing he had ever called family, but he had gained a new one…

The Hokage chuckled fondly as the kits began yipping excitedly, licking the boy's face. Apparently something momentous had been declared, if how serious the boy's face was any indication. His laughter caused the boy to freeze, training wary vulpine eyes on him.

Only the easy and friendly feeling the old man emitted prevented him from attacking. His eyes narrowed briefly on the tense man standing next to the elder before flicking back to the old man, obviously the leader. He wasn't quite sure what to make of the man, he wasn't a threat if his relaxed pose was any indication, but what did he want? Humans were never good news, at least the ones he knew of never were…

"Hello, Naruto."

The boy in question struggled to make sense of the strange words, words he hadn't heard in over six years. The language was unused, buried deep within the darkest depths of his mind, nearly forgotten but not entirely. Six years spent in the wild had nearly erased everything he had known as a human, but not utterly…

"Heeeellloooo," he managed, growling out the syllables in a rather unique accent.

The Sandaime grinned happily around his pipe and Naruto relaxed more. He could trust this man, he felt slightly familiar but that wasn't what convinced him. No one back in the village who had done him harm had ever smiled at him.

"It is time you came home, little one."

Naruto looked confused at the statement, his eyebrows furrowing.

"Slloooooowerrrrr," he slurred, a definite growl on the 'r'.

Sandaime was patient, however, and repeated the phrase slow enough for the boy to understand.

The boy stared, contemplating. His home was in the forest. He had spent most of his short life here, it was where he belonged. No one had persecuted him here, he was _welcomed_. Naruto couldn't imagine leaving it, he _was_ home.

But, his mind argued, he had yet to avenge his mother's death, hell the murder the kits' families as well! This "snake-man" was a human, he had access to a human style of fighting, fighting Naruto wasn't familiar with and was sure he would lose against. Like any fox, he was cunning, he wouldn't rush into battle with this…dirt-crawler disguised as a human with nothing but the strange power. The blind rush on the serpent had been a rare occurrence, his fury and that of the ancient voice's had been blinding.

His calculating gaze shifted to the patient old man. These humans had access to this information, both in the special style of fighting and information on the snake-human. He struggled to remember the name of the humans that fought so uniquely…nin…ninja? If he were to gain such a status, he would have the power to avenge his mother. He glanced down at the kits, who were attempting to stare down the intruding humans to protect him. It occurred to him that, wherever he went, they would have to follow.

_"Would you follow me to the human realm? Would you follow me on my journey to make sure that dirt-crawling serpent human who murdered our families never has the chance to try again? These humans have access to knowledge we do not have, knowledge that will insure our victory, will you come with me?"_

The kits looked a little bewildered at first, before their eyes narrowed in determination. A raggedy dirty blond kit with a jagged gash over his left eye (though it appeared that whatever had done the job had missed the eye itself) sat up proudly on his knee, answering for all the others.

_"We shall follow you to the ends of the earth, we so swear!"_

Naruto stared at the declaration, a swear to _him_, tying them all together for eternity so long as they wished. He smiled tearily, reaching his clawed hand forward and rubbed the fox behind the ear. The future suddenly didn't look quite as lonely, quite as dark. He nodded resolutely, wiping his eyes before turning to the elderly man.

"Onnnnneee cooonnnndittttionn. I nnniiinnnnnja."

Sandaime looked confused for a moment before he paused thoughtfully, decoding the broken message. Arriving at a conclusion he nodded.

"Very well."

Naruto's grin caused the ANBU to gasp in shock, he had suddenly realized that the crazy fox-child had _fangs_. Naruto stood carefully, giving his mother and the charm he had worked so hard on one last glance before turning glinting eyes back to the Sandaime.

"Goooodd." (3)

* * *

(1) Meaning the demon fox, kyuubi. The chakra sig is different because the Naruto and the Kyuubi are much more intertwined than before because Naruto has been exposed to foxes for six years, allowing some…foxy traits to appear. 

(2) This little guy's species (for in MY Naruto world, there are many species of fox) looks like the kyuubi, with the black mask across his eyes and the large ears.

(3) Good, not God.

_Wee. __Alrighty__, as far as pairings go, it won't be het. I can tell you that now. I don't like het for this particular fandom. However, I'm not good with romance in general. So how about an in-between, eh? There won't be much in romance (if I decide to do it at all)__ just fluffy hints here and there. Enough so that those who don't like slash won't really notice or it won't be as bothersome, how about that?_

_I actually like some of the female characters (astounding for me, considering I usually don't like them at all) but I can't see Naruto with any of them, sorry guys._

_Next chapter should be out…sooner or later. I've got the idea in my head, so no worries._


	4. Chapter Drei

_Aw…you guys inspire me. Once again, answers to questions at the bottom of the page. Don't be surprised by the time jump. I, as a reader, never really enjoyed reading through all the 'training' bits of it in stories like this. I tended to skip it. Pertinent questions concerning particular topics, however, will be explained in due time…I suppose. _

* * *

_Four years later._

To be absolutely honest with themselves, the three remaining members of Team 7 couldn't be happier to see the brat go. Seriously. He had been a right pain in the ass for the past _year_ and this mission, which had turned out to be of higher rank than posted, had barely been completed. No thanks to the spoiled lordling, of course. Luckily, this particularly dangerous mission had sealed the deal for the young boy, he had decided that the life of a ninja just wasn't for him and went back crying to his mommy and daddy.

Good rittens.

_Why _Hokage-sama had _ever_ decided to comply with the lord and lady's wish and allow their son to 'fulfill his dream' to become a ninja was beyond them. The boy had been a bad egg from the start, shirking his duties, showing up late for missions (and training), and complaining when the going got rough. Therefore, it wasn't a surprise when the boy discovered that his calling wasn't to become a ninja, but instead to be an actor, so the boy resigned from his Genin position and went to pester his parents about signing onto a troupe.

Sasuke was so relieved to see the boy go, he had the sudden unexplainable (and uncharacteristic) feeling to leap into the air and shout something embarrassing like "Yatta!" or high-fiving his perverted Jounin sensei and his annoying pink-haired teammate. Luckily enough for him, he managed to reign in the urge and instead settled for a satisfied smirk, relaxing onto the railing of the bridge with his arms folded as he watched the boy leave after handing in his resignation. He wondered idly who would replace the annoying boy.

Sakura, for once, had her mind completely off the dark haired Uchiha. Normally her mind never left this subject but only things of special importance managed to shove the Uchiha to the back seat. This just happened to be one of those special moments; her team had just become a member short. Don't get her wrong, she was just as pleased to see the boy go as either of her companions (yes, she could tell Sasuke was pleased, she wasn't his number one stalker for nothing), but something egged at the back of her mind. Would they still be able to be a team with only two Genin members? It was impossible, such teams were teams of _three_. Did that mean she had to go back to the academy?

"Kakashi-sensei, does this mean we have to go back to the academy?"

Sasuke froze, he hadn't thought of that. He turned stoically to their teacher, in hopes that the answer would be negative.

Said Jounin had his only visible eye curved up, indicating the man was delighted to see the other go, just as the rest of his team was. The man had _not_ been pleased when Hokage-sama had ordered him to accept the lordling to his team, especially when the Hokage had told him that he was to pass him automatically, without the usual teamwork test. Kakashi, ever one to be first in line to torture innocent would-be Genin, had been unhappy and more than a little pissed that he would be forced to take a Genin team, whether or not they were worthy enough. The Sandaime had then proceeded to inform him, with an all-knowing shine to his eyes that he need not worry; the boy wouldn't last _too_ long. Too long, HAH. The boy had lasted a year, longer than Kakashi would have given him credit for…

"Kakashi-sensei?"

He was shaken from his reverie as he turned to his pink-haired charge.

"Hmmm?"

"Does this mean we have to go back to the academy?" she asked somewhat fearfully.

Kakashi also took notice that Sasuke seemed to be listening very intently. He smirked; it was nice to be holding all the cards for once. This was a _perfect_ opportunity that he wasn't about to pass up. He paused dramatically before plunging on.

"Ah, yes. That would seem so, wouldn't it?"

The sight of Sasuke's widened eyes, the stiffened shoulders, and his limp arms, which had fallen to his sides, was entirely worth the ear-piercing wail of the resident female teammate. It wasn't every day, after all, that the Uchiha lost his cool and showed emotions like any normal human being. Kakashi prided himself in being able to get a rise out of the boy. He allowed himself to gloat for a moment more before reaching idly up, twisting a finger into his ear.

"Maa, maa, Sakura, no need to screech so. I was only joking." _For the most part…_

This statement proved to infuriate Sasuke, who, though he said nothing, showed his anger by folding his arms back up to his chest and sending his sensei a glare that could freeze the pits of hell. Kakashi only grinned cheerfully at the boy though the only way anyone could tell was the upward curve of the man's single visible eye.

Sakura stared, dumbfounded that her teacher had pulled such a cruel trick on them before she blinked. It wasn't all _that_ much of a surprise, considering just _who_ the man was, of course. After all, he was the one who had placed that plastic spider in her sleeping bag on the way to Mist…

"Luckily enough for you kiddies," _and unluckily enough for me…_ "A new Genin has been selected for our team. Actually, he's been a Genin for a little over a year and a half and has waited for the proper time to be admitted into a team. From his report, he's completed his fair share of low-ranked missions and has done them solo under Hokage-sama's special permission. To gain any rank however, one must have experience with a team and enter the Chuunin exam with a team, so Hokage-sama has set him up with us."

Sasuke blinked, special permission from the Hokage? Who was this kid? His eyes narrowed, he wasn't sure if he would be able to handle himself if it was another brat. The last one had been quite enough for him, thank you. If the special permission was any indicator, however, the Genin was something _special_. Another spoiled brat, no doubt. He scowled, what _luck_. And how come _he_ wasn't special enough to be without a team until he wanted to move up in the ranks? _Christ_, he was the last of the _Uchiha_. If that didn't call for exceptions, he didn't know what did.

He, of course, ignored the fact that he was sounding quite like a brat as well.

It could be said that Sasuke was pouting but Uchiha, particularly this one, do not pout. He was merely…lamenting the fact that he had been stuck working with _losers_ for the past year when he could have been working alone. That was it.

Sakura rocked back on her heels, a contemplating look on her face.

"Does that mean we don't have practice today? He won't be arriving today, right?"

Kakashi smirked, or at least that's what she thought. She got the feeling he was smirking behind that face mask, call it women's intuition.

"Ah…well Hokage-sama, with his _all-knowing_ wisdom foresaw this predicament," oh no, he was _not_ holding a grudge, not him, "Thus, he should be arriving fairly soon with our new teammate since I sent Pakkun to inform him of the resignation."

Sakura blinked, when had he done that? Kakashi-sensei sure was _weird_.

"When should he be here?"

He didn't answer her, first turning to face the road leading towards the more populated areas of Konoha and stood a little straighter. Curious, she turned to look in the direction and gasped in surprise.

They were already here.

* * *

"Come here Naruto." 

Lounging on the leather couch that he had practically been living on the past few weeks when not on missions, Naruto cocked an eyebrow but rose without complaint, moving forward fluidly to stand in front of the Hokage's desk. Yasuo leapt from his perched position on the arm of the couch, landing a few feet from his brother, and leapt gracefully from the wooden floor to his shoulder, making himself comfortable as easily as a cat would.

Naruto vaguely hoped that the sudden appearance of the droopy-eyed pug meant that the spoiled brat holding his position on Team 7 had finally resigned. The scroll that had been dropped on the desk certainly pointed to the idea. He was surprised to find himself anticipating what his sensei for the past four years had to say.

The Sandaime chuckled as he watched the boy in front of him do the Naruto-equivalent of a squirm. It wasn't much but the slight tensing of his shoulders and the glint in the boy's eyes was like a blaring signal to his mentor. Taking pity on the boy, he unrolled the scroll, skimming over it quickly to confirm what he already assumed. Nodding to himself, he allowed the scroll to roll back up and looked up at the boy, grinning.

"Congratulations on your acceptance to Team 7, Naruto."

Naruto grinned as well, unusually long canines glinting in the morning sun. Yasuo, who, along with his brothers and sisters, had picked up a bit of the human language, wagged his tail in anticipation, his mouth opening into a fox version of a grin.

"Granted, you must pass Kakashi's survival exercise but with your determination and quick mind, I don't think you have anything to worry about."

Naruto opened his mouth to speak for the first time the entire day, "When do we leave?"

The boy still growled many of his syllables and each sentence he spoke had a strange accent to it. What would one expect when, though Japanese was his first language, he had spent most of his life speaking another language?

"Well, are you ready? We can leave right now, unless you want to wait until tomorrow…"

Naruto shot him a half-hearted glare, his vulpine slanted eyes making it all the more intimidating, and made it quite clear he wanted to leave _now_.

The Hokage chuckled, rising.

"Alright, alright, let's go."

* * *

Sasuke eyed the boy up and down carefully, his dark eyes narrowed beneath the fringe of his bangs. What an unusual kid…Standing next to the Hokage himself was his newest teammate and possibly the oddest boy he had ever seen. 

He was a few inches shorter than himself, an inch or so shorter than Sakura. The boy's right arm was bandaged from the knuckles all the way up to his shoulder, which kind of explained why the boy's shirt only had a left sleeve. It was a billowy shirt, loose enough to be comfortable, but tight enough that the boy didn't look like he was swimming in it. It was of an ebony color with a red spiral on the front. The lone sleeve was very long, long enough to cover the boy's finger tips. He wore strange tan cargo pants that ended a little below his mid calf…and he wore no shoes.

A wild mop of blonde hair adorned his head and was long enough to frame his angular face. Strange faint red scars (three on each side) ran the length of the boy's jaw to curl up his cheek. It was very strange but what Sasuke caught next caused his eyes to widen. The boy was close enough for Sasuke to discover, to his shock, that the boy's ears had a slight point to them, slight enough that one would not really take too much notice unless they were as sharp as he was.

He recovered quickly, shifting his gaze to the boy's eyes to gauge a reaction from him. First impressions lasted with Sasuke; he wasn't one to change his mind often.

The sapphire blue eyes, unusually angular, narrowed on him. Obviously the boy didn't like to be examined like a horse about to be bought. Sasuke scoffed and locked gazes with him and found, to his surprise, that the boy held it with the same daring intensity he himself was giving. The boy's gaze was challenging, his eyes so narrow, it made him look fox-like. He suddenly felt as if he was trying to stare down a large predator and he found he wanted to turn his gaze away. Luckily for his pride, the boy's attention was diverted when the Hokage rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Play nice, Naruto."

The boy in question merely smirked wickedly. The Hokage sighed in resignation, bringing his fingers up to rub at his temples for a moment before speaking again, this time to Kakashi.

"This is Uzumaki Naruto, he's here to fill the empty position on your team. He's quite the talented youth and he should…fit in quite well into your squad. This is a copy of his profile," the Sandaime handed the Jounin the scroll, "And this is your first mission to begin in two weeks' time. You are to deliver the official invitation to the Chuunin exams to Suna."

He handed the now intrigued Jounin (who conveniently looked over the fact that the Sandaime had given the team a mission before he had even passed them) the scroll and mission brief.

"I expect you to leave on time, Kakashi."

With that said, he turned to the fox-like boy sternly.

"Behave."

Naruto merely grinned innocently at him, reaching up with his bandaged hand to pet the strange timer grey fox balanced expertly on his right shoulder (1).

"I _mean_ it."

Naruto sighed and nodded, looking the Hokage directly in the eye to let him know there would be no trouble…from him anyway. After all, it wouldn't be _his_ fault if the dark-haired boy, whom had been glaring daggers at him since he arrived, started trouble.

The Hokage smiled kindly, putting his wizened old hand on the boy's head, ruffling his hair affectionately. Instead of being offended, as any normal child his age would be, Naruto grinned widely, letting loose with a very rare laugh.

"I expect to hear how the test went this evening, okay?"

Sasuke and Sakura looked slightly panicked at the mention of a test but Naruto nodded in confirmation and watched as one of the only two humans he trusted headed back towards the inner bowels of Konoha. Instantly, his face sobered, as he turned to face his new teammates and sensei. There was awkward silence for a few moments as they stared each other down. Kakashi broke the silence by coughing loudly, motioning to his team to take a seat.

Sakura poised herself in a lady-like position on a nearby boulder while Sasuke moved away from his original position to casually lean against a thick tree. Naruto, however, had no qualms about plopping down in the dirt, the grey fox leaping from his shoulder to the ground to sit calmly beside him. Kakashi heaved himself onto the end post of the railing of the bridge and cracked his neck.

"Alright, since this is to be our _real_ team from here on out, let us begin by introducing ourselves, your likes, dislikes, hobbies, and dreams. I am Hatake Kakashi and… I am un-inclined to tell you anything else about myself."

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the lack of information but Sakura and Sasuke remained unperturbed, they were quite used to their sensei's quirkiness.

The man motioned to the girl, "You next."

"I'm Haruno Sakura. My likes…well…" she blushed and looked in Sasuke's direction, "My hobbies are…umm…my dreams…"

Kakashi began to look rather impatient and she took the hint, leaping instantly to something she was unabashed to shout out to the world.

"I hate Ino-pig!"

Naruto felt his eyebrow twitch. _This_ was why he generally avoided human females around his age.

Kakashi rolled his eyes, motioning for the strange dark-haired boy to go next.

"I am Uchiha Sasuke. I don't like much of anything and I dislike just about everything. My hobby is training. My dream…well, it's more of an _ambition_; to kill someone and revive my clan."

Their sensei nodded to this as well, obviously having expected such a response. He turned to his last student, staring at him expectantly. Naruto sighed, straightening slightly.

"I am Uzumaki Naruto and this," he motioned to the fox seated beside him, "is my brother Yasuo. I like training and spending time with those I trust. I _hate_ snakes and dislike humans in general. My hobbies include sparring and…other things I don't feel like telling you. My _ambition_," his eyes narrowed, glinting, "as you would put it, is to rip apart the _human_ who murdered my mother and the parents of my brothers and sisters."

His impassioned declaration was met with absolute silence.

Naruto's eyes thinned dangerously, "What?"

Kakashi noticed vaguely that the boy had a strange accent, growling his 'r's and slurring his 's's. It was quite strange but it suited the boy, it contributed to the wild look the boy had about him. He had followed quite easily until the boy had mentioned disliking humans in general, though he had found it strange he referred to the fox as his brother (and that he referred to people as humans). Then he had been surprised to hear the boy declare a similar goal that Sasuke himself had. It was…odd to say the least. Obviously if they passed his survival test today, he would have to read that scroll _very_ carefully.

"Nothing," Kakashi assured him (Naruto looked far from reassured but he dropped it) and straightened on his perch, "Today because this is our official team, I am going to give you a test to see if you are actually worthy of becoming true Genin."

Sakura gaped, her hands falling slack to her sides. Sasuke stared, his jaw slackening slightly as his shoulders tensed immensely. Naruto, however, looked completely nonchalant. He had expected as much.

_"What?!?!"_

Sakura leapt off her rock, swinging her arms out to either side in an angry gesture.

"What the hell was this entire _year_ about then?! How could we not be true Genin yet?!"

Kakashi smirked beneath his mask, _this_ was what he had been waiting for the past year, to send these children back to the academy so he could have his peace.

"Why, my dear Sakura, it means that this year was an entirely lucky chance for you. I give a survival test to every Genin team that is unlucky enough to get me as a Jounin. Because you had that little lordling on the squad, the Hokage forbid me from failing you, assuring me the boy would quit after a while and there would be no ill will between Konoha and the boy's parents. Now that I have a _normal_ team, I'm going to give you the _real_ test and, should you fail, you will be sent back to the academy."

Sakura look horrified and Sasuke had stopped breathing, an indication that he was shocked.

Kakashi merely grinned wickedly, his one visible eye curving upwards.

Silence once again settled around the camp and Naruto looked vaguely annoyed, rising from his sitting position.

"What are we waiting for?"

He was rather impatient when it came to most humans and he had a fairly good feeling that this wouldn't be the last time he would become annoyed with his…team. He suddenly found himself wishing once more that the Sandaime had made an exception for him and allowed him to participate in the Chuunin exams by himself, it certainly would have been an improvement as opposed to working with this team for a few months before participating in it.

Kakashi regarded the youth, balanced on the balls of his feet expertly, ready and waiting to get started. Obviously, the boy had known exactly what he was getting into.

"We aren't, follow me."

Naruto made what sounded like a huff, to which the fox beside him seemed to respond to before following his new sensei. Sasuke and Sakura followed angrily, their fury evident to Naruto in their heavy, scuffing footsteps. He smirked to himself as Yasuo bared his fangs in the equivalent of a fox laugh.

* * *

"The way to pass this test is to get one of these bells," he held up two bells, each dangling from a piece of string, "from me within a certain time limit. The one who doesn't get a bell is tied to a log and gets sent back to the academy. You have to come at me with all you have to get a bell, so don't hold back, come at me with the intent to _kill_. If none of you have managed to get a bell before the time runs out, you _all_ fail." 

He tied the bells to his pants and pulled out a timer from his jacket, placing it on said stump.

Naruto straightened instantly at the mention of teammates getting sent back to the academy. If he could get all the bells, he would be the only one on the team and he wouldn't have to deal with these tiring children! The prospect made him brighten immensely, maybe he _wouldn't_ have to deal with these brats for the next few months for the Chuunin exam.

Yasuo, however, slanted his ears.

_"Something isn't right about his test, Naruto. Why would the old man force you to sign up with this team if you could go at the Chuunin exam by yourself?"_

Naruto slouched instantly, growling quietly and shifting his weight to his other foot.

_"You're right, of course. I had completely forgotten about that little detail. There is a hidden way to win this, I just have to find it. Obviously one cannot enter the Chuunin exams with just two people and, as far as I know, this is the only Genin team that hasn't been officially named Genin yet, so winners can't be teamed with winners of other teams…"_

The conversation was made silently, through gestures that came very easily to them and were discrete, greatly useful when hunting.

Naruto shifted his weight to the other foot, contemplating this predicament. There had to be a way to win this for the entire team. He didn't get the chance to ponder this thought further, however, as Kakashi gave them the signal to start. Quickly and efficiently, he leapt into the trees as his other teammates dashed for similar cover.

As silent as the dead, Naruto peered through the tiny gaps in the leaves to observe their Jounin instructor and, thus, get a better understanding of the situation. Yasuo was silent beside him, no doubt watching his back as he studied the situation. He almost fell out of the tree in surprise when, after five minutes had passed, their quirky Jounin sensei whipped out a strange orange book and began to read, a blush quickly making its way across his face.

Obviously, the man wasn't taking them seriously.

Uchiha must have come to the same conclusion as, moments later, he leapt from his hiding spot to launch a vicious assault upon the man, clearly insulted.

Without even looking up from his book, Kakashi dodged, swinging out his leg to catch the Uchiha in the back and send him plummeting to the ground. Naruto winced as the boy's face cracked into the ground, that _had_ to hurt. He had to commend the boy, however, when he recovered fairly quickly, rolling to the side and launching off the ground forcefully, making a quick snatch for the bells. Surprised the boy had recovered so quickly, Kakashi leaned backwards, the dark-haired boy's fingers barely missing the bells.

He flipped backwards quickly to a safe distance before once more relaxing into a lazy pose to read his…novel.

The Uchiha smirked, he had gotten quite close that time. Lunging forward once more, he swung his hands forward to run through a quick series of seals. He inhaled as he ran, skidding to a halt mere feet from his opponent before bringing one of his hands up to his mouth.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

From his perch, Naruto quirked an eyebrow. That was different, he had never seen that particular jutsu before. He filed it away for later, reminding himself to ask the Sandaime if it was something he could learn…

Sakura gaped as their Jounin instructor was engulfed in flames. They were going to get into so much trouble for killing another ninja! Even _if_ that ninja had said to come at him with the intent to kill, Sasuke had gone overboard! She brought her hands to her face in misery, she was never going to become a ninja now.

Naruto smirked as the cloud of smoke dissipated to reveal…a rather charred log. He figured as much but a gasp of surprise to his left revealed that Haruno had expected the man to perish. He scoffed, this was a _Jounin_, no half-wit Uchiha boy was going to defeat _him_ in battle. Even if said boy had such a unique trick up his sleeve, he never had a chance to beat the man, not with the meager training they had had. Even together, they could never hope to defeat him…

And it suddenly struck him.

That was the _idea_. They weren't supposed to fight him one on one! The man was testing them! It was a trick question all along, to call forth their determination to succeed by dangling the bells in front of their faces while the only real way to win was to work _together_. The bells didn't even _matter_.

_"Yasuo, I got it, the answer to the riddle. It's teamwork, we have to work together and show him we can work as a team to pass."_

Yasuo regarded him dryly, _"Excellent, get back to me when you can round up these morons and convince them to work together."_

Naruto sighed, but his brother had a point. Well, first thing was first. Had to get the Jounin far enough away so that he could talk to his teammates alone. He smirked wickedly quite suddenly. It was a good thing he had Yasuo. A quick glance to Kakashi proved that the man was quite distracted by the Uchiha, who had been buried up to his neck.

_"Yasuo, I have an idea."_

* * *

"So you see, Sasuke-kun, you were overconfident and it was your overconfidence that landed you in this mess. Ah well, another year in the academy isn't so bad, neh Sasu-" 

And quite suddenly, Kakashi found himself Icha-Icha Paradise-less. He stared stupidly at his empty hand for a moment before his quick, furious eyes landed on the gray fox dancing proudly along the end of the clearing, obviously taunting him. Completely ignoring the Uchiha in favor of retrieving his precious graphic novel, he dove after the fox as it leapt into the woods at top speed, eyes alight with mischief.

Naruto snickered quietly to himself before leaping out of his tree to land in front of the buried Sasuke. The boy in question glared furiously at the blond, daring him to say _anything_. Naruto pondered just leaving him there and waiting another year to find another Genin team before deciding that, no, that wasn't the best option, and squatting down a few feet from the boy, met his gaze easily. He was delighted to find that the dark-haired boy's glare faltered a little.

"Would you like to pass, Uchiha? I've got a proposition for you if you'd like to make it."

He had decided to convince the Uchiha to work with him first. If he succeeded in getting the boy to agree, Haruno would just come with the package. The plan was ingenious, if he didn't say so himself.

Uchiha glared some more.

"I haven't got all day and Yasuo can't keep Hatake distracted for long."

Sasuke contemplated his predicament. He wanted to pass so _badly_ but he didn't want _help_ to do it. Damnit, he had to achieve his revenge by himself, without the help of others! Others would just drag him down and prevent him from killing his brother! No one could understand, he had to do this for himself, to ask others for help was a weakness! His revenge was his own…

He blinked quite suddenly as he discovered something. This boy had a similar quest to his own, to achieve revenge. Both of them had lost their respective families to some insane murderer. Looking into the other's eyes once more, he realized this boy had no trouble with asking for help to achieve his goals. Hell, the boy was asking for his assistance to overcome this obstacle and get closer to _his_ revenge…

He nodded to show he was listening.

Naruto smirked, excellent.

* * *

Kakashi snarled quite convincingly at the yipping fox (who, to his fury, looked quite pleased with itself) before it bounced away, disappearing into the forest and vanishing. 

Dusting his precious novel off, he pocketed it to keep it safe from any _other_ crazy animals that may have decided that it would make a wonderful chew toy. Really, wildlife these days.

Quite pissed off, he meandered his way back to his wayward Genin, more than willing to take out his frustrations on them, especially the feral-looking blond. He owed that cheeky brat for getting his fox to kidnap his graphic novel. When he arrived at the clearing, however, he was quite surprised to find that the Uchiha brat had escaped somehow. No, that wasn't right. He looked like he had been…dug out.

That was the last thought he achieved before something rocketed up from beneath him to claw wildly at his face. Leaping backwards to avoid being mangled, he moved right into the oncoming path of a flying kick aimed at his face. He managed to perform Kawarimi in time, appearing in the tree closest to where he had been attacked. As soon as he had managed to identify his attackers as the Uchiha and the Uzumaki brat, he realized that he had set off a trap, which had sent a rain of kunai down about his head.

Flipping out of the tree, he found himself in hand to hand combat with his two previous attackers. They worked surprisingly well, considering that neither of the boys liked the other and none of them had fought with a partner before. He was skilled enough in hand to hand combat (now that he wasn't surprised) to take time to ponder on where the third teammate could be. He continued to contemplate this matter before he realized too late that the boys were herding him to a certain area in the field under a rather large tree.

Another trap went off, this one causing a net to launch up from the ground, ensnaring Kakashi and hauling him thirty feet into the air to swing comically back and forth. He reached instinctively for a kunai or shuriken to cut him down only to find his bags empty. Open-mouthed, he stared down at a grinning Naruto who had each kunai and shuriken the Jounin owned clutched in his fingers and a smirking Sasuke, whom held the few bomb tags he carried around.

Reaching his limit with these _children_ and more than ready to be rid of them, he reached forward to _rip_ his way out of his imprisonment when he was stopped by the buzzer of the timer going off.

Sakura hopped out from behind one of the trees in the surrounding area carrying an extra length of rope and string, obviously she had been the one behind the traps…Kakashi paled in growing horror. That meant…

"Neh, neh. Kakashi-_sensei_, I suppose this means we pass. _After all_, the point of this entire test was teamwork and we all worked _together_, like any _good_ Genin team…" The boy's smirk grew, his gleaming canines glinting in the sun.

Kakashi threw his head back and groaned, deciding that he _probably_ shouldn't have gotten out of bed this morning.

* * *

Heeeee. You guys asked for a long chapter...Sorry for the long AN... 

(1): By timber grey, I mean the color most timber wolves have.

ANSWERS:

As far as the slashy-ness goes, it's going to be fluff-stuff. As much as I like READING yaoi, I couldn't hope to write it. As far as those of you who don't like shonen-ai, I can only say it won't be too much, just the two of them hanging out relatively often, very close, maybe a little quality time together here and there…it won't be too bad. Maybe one kiss or two.

No SasuNaru. :D Yay.

And, no (to the person who asked), Naruto is not the only adult fox left. I agree with you that that would be stupid. There are a lot left, I can assure you.

No, the black fox from the first chapter was but a small one-shot character. So was mum. The nine that will eventually all be described are pretty much the only OC you have to worry about now. Maybe I'll get around to drawing them for you guys...

AS for the guy who asked why we crazy fangirls like yaoi so much and WHY it is so popular here:

I can't quite answer your question but I can take two guesses.

One: I believe there are more female writers here than male. As a result, those females of that population who are inclined to write shonen-ai or yaoi will do so, thus the yaoi populations.

Two: The amount of gay fiction here is about equal to the amount of lesbian porn-o magazines and movies overflowing the shelves in XXX rated stores. Thus a balance. :P


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